THIS glorious festive display is the biggest and best work yet of grandfather Ian Sawyer – and he’s hoping it will brighten the lives of Headway clients.

Ian, from St Andrew’s Ridge, began putting up Christmas lights 13 years ago and added more and more every year after receiving glowing praise from neighbours and passers-by.

Ian said: “I try to add one new attraction each time and move things around, it’s like spot the difference. This year’s is a projection of Father Christmas waving from one of the windows. Sometimes, we get 20 to 30 people outside the house looking at the lights, mainly on the weekends, and you can see our house from the main through-road.

“Occasionally. I see people drive along that road, they see the lights, go round the roundabout and come back to stop and have a better look.

“It began when I moved here from Rodbourne with my wife and she brought a Father Christmas decoration with her, which was the first one I used. I said I was doing it for the children and grandchildren, because we used to take them around and see the other houses’ lights, but we’re all big kids at heart really.”

Ian estimated that he’s spent up to £1,000 on all the lights and Santa Claus figures that have covered his Yeats Close home over the years.

In 2017, he decided to use his Yuletide tradition to thank Headway Swindon for their incredible support which helped him recover from a terrible motorbike accident.

First, he raised £230 from money dropped by admiring observers into a box in front of Father Christmas, then he raised £380 the second time around and is now counting the coins for this year’s fundraiser.

He said: “An accident like that can change every aspect of your life - walking, talking, thinking and feeling - and people don’t realise how easy it is to get a brain injury. Headway led me through a very difficult time and brought me back as much as possible to what I was like before the accident. I was one of the lucky ones, with no serious mental issues, just a couple of serious physical injuries.

“The staff are fantastic and had an unbelievable amount of patience, so I wanted to give something back to them. They are one of those charities that people have heard of but don’t really know the full extent of their work.”

Headway Swindon has been supporting adults with brain injuries since 1989. At its Dorcan HQ, its volunteers help brain injured people regain and relearn skills that have become impaired.